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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Ban's letter to Security Council on Houla / Syria

Further
to my letter dated 25 May 2012, in which I updated the Security
Council on the implementation of resolution 2043 (2012), I regret to
inform that violence against civilian population and clashes between
government forces and armed opposition groups in various parts of
Syria have escalated in the past two days. The most disturbing and
violent event took place in the El~Houleh area in Homs province on 25
May 2012 and early hours of 26 May 2012.

Accounts
of local residents suggest that attacks began on Friday, 25 May 2012,
after demonstrations which followed prayers, and lasted until after
midnight. Members of the Free Syrian Army and other local residents
said that 116 people had been killed in total and more than 300
Wounded.

On
26 May 2012, observers and civil and human rights experts from the
United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) visited the
villages of Taldaou and Kafr Laha in the E1-Houleh area, where they
viewed the bodies of the dead and confirmed from an examination of
ordnance that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential
neighbourhood. They heard first-hand accounts of what had happened
from local residents. The villages in question have been outside of
the Government control, but surrounded by heavy military presence.
Government officials said that seven security officers had been
killed in the El-Houleh area on 25 May 2012.

The
patrols negotiated the cessation of fire with both sides to ensure
their safety. At the checkpoint before the village of Taldou, the
team observed two armoured personnel carriers and one tank. UNSMIS
patrols were met by crowds of local residents. Despite the
circumstances, the observers were positively received by the local
population, the Free Syrian Army, the Revolutionary Council and the
Local Coordination Committee. However, local residents were anxious
about the departure of the observers, which they said would allow the
government forces to resume shelling. For these reasons, in Taldou,
three patrol members were temporarily prevented from leaving the town
by residents. All

local
interlocutors called on UNSMIS to establish presence in the area.

UNSMIS
patrols observed 85 corpses, including 34 children and 7 Women,
located in a mosque in Taldou. The observers were not able to
immediately determine the cause of death, but observed shotgun wounds
and wounds consistent with artillery fire. Local residents said that
the bodies of the dead Were also located in another mosque, but the
UNSMIS patrol could not visit it due to security reasons. The patrol
also saw artillery and tank shells, as Well as fresh tank tracks.
Many buildings had been destroyed by heavy weapons.

The
observers visited the village of Taldou later the same day. They
observed local residents preparing a mass grave to bury the dead.
UNSMIS team visited another mosque in the village Where they were
shown three bodies, including a woman and an infant with gunshot
wounds, and another four bodies, with severe facial injuries in
another mosque. UNSMIS observers secured the return of six to eight
other corpses, including one woman and children, from the checkpoint
of the government forces to the Taldou village for burial. These
bodies bore signs of severe physical abuse.

In
the village of Kafr Laha, the military observers met with
representatives of the Free Syrian Army, the Revolutionary Council
and the Local Coordination Committee. The observers spoke with local
residents who alieged that the armed men, who entered the village,
were members of a pro-government pararniiitary group, “Shabiha”,
from a neighbouring village of Kabou. The observers were shown
injured adults and children, but they could not verify when the
injuries had been sustained.

UNSMIS
contacted the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to request medical aid for the
injured in the two villages. Representatives of the Red Crescent
however responded that all ambulances were in the Horns neighbourhood
of Sultaniya, which had also been shelled overnight. Local UNSMIS
patrols met with the Governor of Horns and shared photo and video
evidence. While the detailed circumstances are unknown, We can
confirm that there has been artillery and mortar shelling. There have
also been other forms of violence, including shootings at close range
and severe physical abuse.

In
the wake of these events, the United Nations observers are facing
increasing criticism for not stopping the violence and, in some
quarters, even being blamed for an increase. There is a
misconception, difficult to correct, about the role of unarmed
military observers and what they can and cannot do. This puts the
United Nations presence on the ground in a perilous position both
with regard to the ability to conduct operations and to the
observers’ personal security.

These
appalling and brutal crimes, which involved indiscriminate and
disproportionate use of force, are a flagrant violation of
international law and of the commitments under the six-point plan to
cease the use of heavy Weapons in population centres and violence in
all its forms. Such crimes require a transparent, independent and
impartial international investigation. Those responsible for
perpetrating these crimes must be held to account.

I
firmly demand that the Government of Syria immediately cease the use
of heavy weapons in population centres and fulfills its
responsibility to protect civilians. Armed violence in all its forms
in Syria must cease at once. I urge the armed opposition to refrain
from taking revenge and keep its commitment not to resort to armed
violence. However, I stress that it is in the first instance for the
Syrian Government to make the cessation of violence announced on 12
April 2012 a reality. It is also clear that a political process must
be launched in order to find a solution to the current dangerous
political stalemate.

I
Welcome the Security Council’s continued unanimous support for the
efforts of the Joint Special Envoy. I urge the Council to redouble
their support to the Joint Special Envoy and UNSMIS, find effective
ways to ensure an immediate cessation of all armed violence and take
further steps as necessary, so as to create the conditions for an
effective implementation of the Joint Special Envoy’s six-point
plan and UNSMIS mandate. In this regard, it is particularly critical
that measures be in place to ensure that the Government of Syria
abides by its obligations to cease the use of heavy weapons in
population centres. I call on the Syrian Government to expeditiously
and fully implement the other aspects of the six-point plan in order
to create an environment for a political process to resolve the
ongoing crisis through peaceful means and to meet the legitimate
aspirations of the Syrian people. The longer the current violence
continues, the longer it will take the society to heal.

Joint
Special Envoy Annan will travel to Damascus shortly. I sincerely hope
that the Syrian leadership will take this opportunity to
fundamentally change course and choose diplomacy over guns to ensure
that the legitimate aspirations for freedom, dignity and prosperity
of the Syrian people are met.

I
should be grateful if you could bring this letter urgently to the
attention of the members of the Security Council.

2 comments:

Where are the Arab and the Islamic world when so many innocent are butchered. The same people who will always shout,scream and curse when other people and non Muslim step in tto help.. Where are they??? Shame, shame and shame on them.